The CarpsThe Young & Passionate Days of Carpedia

This five-song EP from Toronto duo the Carps has some similarities to the sounds coming from Montreals Think About Life  a smashed-up smorgasbord of dance punk hop  an all the more frequent happening now that everyone seems to listen to everything. The main difference here is that things are a little more rock than punk and little more pulled together, where TAL pulls them apart. The 800-pound gorilla in the middle of this CD is that the singer, Jahmal Tonge, often sounds a whole lot like Lenny Kravitz, if he was starting out now, and frankly, who the fuck wants to listen to Lenny Kravitz? Does he even exist anymore? "Compton to Scarboro starts off with a BBD "Poison riff that drops into a hot mess of rock where Tonge displays an impressive vocal range that better illustrates his skills, from slangin a hot soul chorus to pissed off punk screams. The third track (with an infuriatingly long Harry Pottery name) starts off perfect then goes a bit boring, and "Lets Fall in Love is addictive and up-tempo, but not, as its deemed, "the rawest thing Ive ever heard. These guys have an amazing album in them, no doubt, but until then, if this is the difference between Toronto and Montreal, Im living in the right city for me.
(Urbnet)